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Lisbon then Porto or Porto then Lisbon?

Posted by on

My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon from the United States to Portugal and will be flying in and out of Lisbon. We've decided to do 5 days and Lisbon and 4 days in Porto, with a few buffer days for travel. We are debating between heading for the train to Porto immediately after landing in Lisbon, or starting in Lisbon then going to Porto, and then returning for one night in Lisbon before catching our plane home.

My question is: how much of a hassle is it to get to Porto from the Lisbon airport? Do you think it's better for us to go there first so we don't have to spend one day at the end of our trip getting back to Lisbon? Or do you think it's better to stop once we get to Lisbon even if that means we have to return for our last night?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Posted by
11179 posts

What time do you arrive and what is your departure time?

Knowing that will help forum members offer salient advice.

Posted by
2 posts

Oops! Great point :) Meant to include that but forgot!

We land in Lisbon at 8:45am and depart at 10:30am

Posted by
2707 posts

If you arrive early you can taxi to the train station (short ride) then get the train to Porto which will take about 3 hours. No hassle. Time to snooze on the train. Then you've arrived, can enjoy Porto, train back to Lisbon for the end of your trip. If you are arriving late, stay in Lisbon first, save wear and tear on you both. EDIT: I see your times. Go to Porto first.

Posted by
3161 posts

I don’t know your departure city or if you’ve purchased your tickets yet but you should look into flying open jaw into Porto and home from Lisbon. If your airport is served by TAP, the Portuguese airline, they offer some great deals.

Posted by
80 posts

Hello @leh238,

If you had the chance to arrive in Porto and depart in Lisbon or vice-versa, it would save you some travel time...
If you can't do that, then I also agree that you should first go to Porto and then to Lisbon - the train ride is about 3 hours as mentioned before or you can also consider to take a flight from Lisbon to Porto. The difference is that Porto's airport is not that close to the historic centre; on the other hand, Campanhã train station is better located and you can even take the train to São Bento train station (located in the historic centre) - when you leave the train you'll be immediately admiring all its beauty ;)

Enjoy your honeymoon in Portugal ;)

Posted by
411 posts

"We land in Lisbon at 8:45am"

i would do this in advance:
1. Go to CP.pt and sign up. Always log in to My CP when exploring tickets/travel.
2. Buy two 1st class AP tickets for the 1209 departure from Lisboa Oriente to Porto Campanha. (Travel from Campanha to São Bento is free and using São Bento in CP eliminates too many possibilities.) If you are a "client" and buy 8+ days in advance, then the cost will be €25/person (vs €42 list price). If 1st class is sold out, then buy 2nd as the difference in seating is not much.
3. Buy two 1st class AP tickets from Porto Campanha to Lisboa Oriente.

I would do this upon first arrival in Lisboa:
4. Allow about 2 hours to exit the Aeroporto. The immigration line is awful.
5. Take a taxi from the Aeroporto to the Oriente train station. It will cost about €6. You could take the Metro for less, but you will be confused and tired after your flight.

I would do this upon second arrival in Lisboa:
6. Go from the CP part of Oriente to the Metro part and buy two Via Viagem cards for €15 each. This will reduce your public transit costs to €1.30/ride. Not having the via Viagam card means paying outrageous list prices (€5.90 for Elevador Santa Justa, €3.90 for Elevador Glora, €2.90 for trams).
7. Decide whether to use Metro/bus to get to your abode or take a taxi (cost will be about €13).

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